09x21 - The Survivor

[bunniefuu]

Vigilantes frighten
me, Sergeant.

Vigilantes wearing badges
I find particularly scary.

It's like I'm going to be
the bait, for God sakes.

Well, it does
sound like trouble.

I'll take the real estate
business any day of the week.

A guy with a ski mask. I just
happened to walk in right in time.

Well, I'll be over there
as quickly as I can.

We've been there before,
Lofton. We're cutting our losses.

You will talk to me.

(TIRES SCREECHING)

MAN 1: Hold it right
there! MAN 2: Freeze, pal!

Well, it could very well be
a matter of life and death.

(CELL PHONE RINGS)

Yes.

They're on their way!
Come on, move out. Now!

(ALL SHOUTING)

(TIRES SCREECHING)

MAN 1: Freeze! MAN
2: Hold it right there.

Oh, damn.

What's this I hear about the
third time being the charm?

Yeah. You missed the last
one, Marv. This is number four.

So, how long are we gonna
keep playing the same game?

Sarge? Mmm-hmm.

We come at them
and they slip away.

I mean, this is
getting old fast.

All right. All right.

What is this, Vic? Listen up.

Central's closing us down.

(EXCLAIMS)

Oh, what? Come on, man,
we were getting so close.

They did not say
permanently. It's temporary.

They just need time to review.

It's gonna look great on
our efficiency report, Sarge.

Once, yeah, maybe it's a
coincidence. Twice even.

Any more than that and either
we're doing something wrong, or...

Well, they got our number.

What? They're being tipped?

But you're the one
who's setting up the busts.

And you guys are the
only ones being told.

All right, now listen. There
are all kinds of people out there.

With eyes, ears.

The thing is, we need a fresh
look. Even the suits agree.

Now, I've convinced them
that we need some new people.

In a couple of days, they're
gonna give me a new guy.

In the meantime, you
hang loose. And take care.

Good night, Sarge.

See you, Sonny.

You find me someone, Meyers?

That's Captain Meyers.

And don't talk as if he's
your private property.

He'll answer to me. You got it?

Got it.

All right. His name is Bondy.

John Andrew Bondy.

Young, squeaky clean.

Father, grandfather both cops.

A year out of Michigan State
with a B.S. in criminology.

And faceless.

John's been on special
detail for the Mayor's office.

It's unlikely any of your
people will recognize him.

Well, let's hope
unlikely is good enough.

I'm putting him
undercover on pier 50.

No badge, no w*apon.

He'll be looking for the
snitch between my guys

and the bad cop's been
screwing up the busts.

I'm not as sure as
you are it's another cop.

You'll look after Bondy, Lofton?

Like he was my baby brother.

(BEEPING)

(EXCLAIMS IN ANNOYANCE)

(PHONE RINGING)

Paula speaking.

Paula, this is Jessica Fletcher.

Hello, Mrs. Fletcher.
What can I do for you?

Well, you can stop me
from murdering my computer.

Look, I can save, but I
can't seem to print anything.

Well, it does
sound like trouble.

I have a Monday deadline.

Is there any chance that you
could come before the weekend?

How does Friday,
1:00 sound to you?

JOHN: What's up,
Vinnie? VINNIE: John.

JOHN: So, you wanted to talk.

VINNIE: Yeah, right.

This friend of yours.
I wanna meet him.

Just say when, baby.

Yeah. Well, you gotta understand,
I want 100 big ones in $50 bills.

And you don't know me anymore.

Vinnie, I mean,
check it out, man.

It'll be like you never existed.

All he wants is a name.

Friday. I'll call you Friday.

He said he'd call me Friday.

Now what the hell
does that mean?

It means between now and
then, he's gonna talk to the leak.

It means when I introduce
you to the rest of the guys,

one of them is gonna
know everything about you,

and he's gonna make sure
you and Vinnie don't happen.

Just look, Sarge.
I'm not stupid.

It's like I'm going to be
the bait, for God sakes.

Exactly.

Look. You just
do like I tell you,

and you'll be okay.

Can you handle that?

Let's do it.

JOHN: Hey, I just thought
of something, Sarge.

LOFTON: What's that?

Vinnie said he
was calling Friday.

So?

I got a date Friday.

So keep it. Who knows what'll
happen between now and then?

Look, don't worry,
kid. You're doing okay.

(LOFTON LAUGHS)

Someday you'll be a cop!

Gee, Dad, thanks a whole lot.

(BOTH LAUGHING)

Oh, I am so grateful
to you, Paula.

You know, I was afraid
that it would be Monday

before I'd be able
to do any work.

Which would mean you'd have
to take a whole weekend off.

We certainly can't
have that, now can we?

Don't remind me.

Thanks.

Well, that ought to do it. Let
me just run the diagnostics.

(PHONE RINGING)

Hello. Ah, Richie.

Oh, please, have
him come right up.

Your young man.

Please. My date.

Really don't have time
for anything serious.

How is school coming along?

Not fast enough.

All right. I'll just
put this cover on

and you can get
back to creating.

Oh, thank you.

Tell me, have you had
any luck with your quest?

Well, I do have a search going at
several computer bulletin boards,

but so far, I've drawn
nothing but blanks.

It's like...

Well, it's like a stork
really did bring me,

because I certainly can't
seem to find anyone else

who's willing to
take responsibility.

It's got to be very
frustrating and disappointing.

Well, my psych professor
says maybe it's better this way.

He claims that most
people are disappointed

with the parents
they grew up with,

whereas I can imagine
mine any way I want them.

(LAUGHS)

This week, I decided my
mother was a research scientist,

working on a cure for cancer.

And I guess that's a promotion,

because before that, I always
pictured her as a sultry torch singer.

(KNOCK ON DOOR)

Hello, Mrs. Fletcher.
I'm John Bondy.

Hello, John. Please
come inside. Thank you.

Be with you in a
couple of shakes, John.

Take your time.

Hello. Hi.

You know, Mrs. Fletcher, I've
been losing sleep because of you.

You see, Paula gave
me one of your books,

and it's been
keeping me up nights.

(LAUGHS)

Well, I don't know whether
to say I'm sorry or thank you.

You're welcome.

But look, I hate to
rush Paula away,

but there's this party
I've been invited to,

and I promised to bring
the prettiest woman in town.

Oh, too bad you have
to take me instead.

(ALL LAUGHING)

No, no. Don't hurt
them, please, don't.

LEN: Get him away from
those steaks. He's burning them.

So, I'm on a stakeout with this
green kid, fresh out of the academy.

And we're in some
bushes, watching this bozo

boosting some TVs from
the back of a pickup truck.

(LAUGHING)

So I say to the kid,
"Okay, tiger, go get him."

And what does the kid do?

He stands straight
up, big as life,

and he starts that speech from
procedures class about intention to arrest

and the cause thereof
and all that garbage.

Meantime, the perp is
gone, man! He books!

Captain chews you out, right?
There ain't no justice for cops!

Amen.

Hey, you sure your father-in-law
needs to be hearing all this, Alex?

No. No. All I gotta say is

I'll take the real estate
business any day of the week.

(ALL LAUGHING)

So, where's the new guy?

You know, he should
be here any time now.

Hey, son-in-law, how about getting
me some more barbecue sauce, huh?

Sure, Dad. Thank you.

Oh, no.

So, we know anything
about him yet?

Uh, just that Lofton picked
him out from some special detail.

I don't know about you guys,
but I hate working with rookies.

So, does anybody know him?

Uh-uh. I guess that's
why Lofton invited him.

I thought with all the trouble
we're having down in Brooklyn,

what do we want to
bring a rookie in on it for?

You find yourself
in a situation,

you never know
what they're gonna do.

Let someone else break him in.

WOMAN: I think it's molasses.
Lots of molasses, people.

MAN: We're almost done.

And that's my wife, Jill.

Hi, Jill. Hi.

Oh, by the way, the sarge
called, said he'd be late.

That's part of
his style, isn't it?

Oh! You're catching on. Come
on, let's go outside and grab a beer.

Can I help you with anything?

Oh, no, Paula. You go on
outside and meet the guys.

Sure? Okay. Yeah.

All right, ladies, let's
get everything outside.

Alice, you wanna
grab that casserole?

Oh, yeah. Right.

MARV: Nice to meet you,
Paula. PAULA: Nice to meet you.

John, looking good, John.

The arsonist over here who is
destroying $200 worth of prime beef,

that's Jill's father,
Jimmy Haynes.

My son-in-law, the
barbecue expert.

See, I bought them to burn them.

Paula, Johnny.

How you doing, Jimmy?

How's it going?

Sonny Greene.

Better keep an eye on
your lady there, John.

Sonny just broke
up with his girlfriend.

You know each other?

Way back when.

Never thought
you'd become a cop.

Jill, is this salad
bowl big enough?

It's too big. Manly men
don't eat bunny food.

And get the table ready. In
exactly 58 and a half seconds,

these steaks are
going to be perfect.

Uh, Jim. Jimbo. If it's
not too much trouble,

could you make mine pink on the
outside and charbroiled on the inside?

There he goes. There he goes.

(ALL LAUGHING)

JIMMY: I tried so hard!

Oh, thanks.

That looks good. Yeah.

Are you and John... You know?

Forget it. Not that there's
anything wrong with John.

It's just that, you know,
isn't on my agenda.

Good. Then I don't
have to do my number

about what a picnic it
is being a cop's wife.

I'm sure.

Hey, Alice.

How do your kids
like their new school?

Oh, about as much as I do.

Classes are way too big, and a
lot of the kids belong to gangs.

That's terrible. Yeah.

I guess it's a lot
easier in private school.

(PHONE RINGING)

Hello.

Yes, this is Jessica Fletcher.

An accident?

Can you describe her?

(INDISTINCT ANNOUNCEMENT ON PA)

(MONITOR BEEPING)

DR. PEREZ: She suffered a
concussion, fractured right ankle,

multi-contusions and abrasions.

On the upside, there are
no apparent internal injuries.

JESSICA: How long
has she been like this?

She was comatose
when they brought her in.

It's not unusual
with head trauma.

Well, tell me
about the accident.

I think the sergeant here
would know more about that.

Detective Sergeant
Vic Lofton, NYPD.

Then you were the
one who called me?

It was a one-vehicle accident.

The car ran into an overpass
abutment on the parkway.

The impact tore the passenger
door right off its hinges

and threw the girl out of the
car just before it caught on fire.

As I told you, the only thing we
were able to read from her purse

was your name and number.

Well, her name is
Paula Raynor, Sergeant.

What do you know about her?

Well, not very much.
She's a computer consultant.

She's single. She has no family.

What about the driver?

Haven't identified
him yet. The flames...

Well, it could have
been Paula's date.

His name was John Bondy.

I really didn't know him at all,

but he seemed like a
very nice young man.

Doctor, she's squeezing my hand.

Talk to her, Mrs. Fletcher.

Paula, it's Jessica Fletcher.

Keep going. It's working.

Paula, wake up.

Please open your eyes.

Look at me.

PAULA: Jessica. Yes.

John's dead. It
was... It was awful.

John didn't suffer, Paula.

According to the coroner,
death was instantaneous.

The moment the
accident happened.

What? What accident?

What are you talking about?

You're in a hospital, Paula.

You were injured in the crash when
you were thrown from John's car.

No. No. I wasn't in the car.

She doesn't remember.

Tell us about that, Paula.

We'd been at a party.

We had to leave early 'cause
John had to meet somebody in a pub.

I don't know, some
kind of business.

He told me to wait in the diner.

Yes, go on, Paula.

When he didn't come back,

I went out to the
parking lot to look for him.

He was sitting
in the front seat.

(CRYING)

His face and head
were covered with blood.

He was... My God, he was dead!

And then I saw...

The last thing I remember...

JESSICA: What
did you see, Paula?

It was red everywhere.

It was blood. John's
blood, everywhere!

She's asleep.

Well, wake her up.

I'm not gonna wake her up.

She's been through an
exhausting, terrifying trauma.

You heard her. She's
confused, barely coherent.

Damn it, I'm conducting
an investigation here!

Damn it, I'm treating
a patient here!

And my here is a hospital!

Sergeant. Yeah?

If what Paula says is true,

and not just a
trick of her memory,

then John Bondy was dead
before the so-called accident.

m*rder*d.

And his k*ller attempted
to m*rder Paula.

Now, I realize you
must have known that,

otherwise you wouldn't be here
conducting a m*rder investigation.

See, I was afraid it was John.

That was his car. You knew him?

Yeah. He was a cop.

He was my new partner.

Well, do you have any idea
why anyone would m*rder him?

One or two, yeah.

Sergeant? Mmm-hmm.

Whoever k*lled John Bondy

must have also believed there
was a reason to k*ll Paula Raynor.

Now, what happens when
your perpetrator discovers that...

That she survived the accident?

I'm already way
ahead of you on that.

The precinct's gonna provide
round-the-clock security.

Yeah. Well, starting when?

Whenever the guy
gets here, okay!

Look, I'm sorry, Sergeant.
I just want to help Paula.

You wanna help Paula?

You really wanna help?
Then stay out of my way.

Let me take care of this myself.

I'm not gonna let this get so far
along that some sleazy defense lawyer

can just march into the DA's
office and make a plea bargain.

LOFTON: Now just
listen to me. Listen to me.

The girl is starting
to remember.

She remembers seeing John
sitting in his car, already dead.

Yeah? When's the last
time you dreamed of seeing

a dead cop sitting in his
car dead in a pub parking lot?

This is what I want you to do.

I want you to call
the medical examiner,

tell him to take John's
body out of the drawer,

put it back on the table.

Pretend he didn't
die in a car crash,

and find out what k*lled him.

Okay. I'll get back to you.

Excuse me. Did you
want to use the phone?

Oh, no.

Can you always talk people into
doing what you want them to do?

Well, it helps when
he's an old buddy

and he owes you 200
bucks from a poker game.

I mean this in
the friendliest way,

but you look like
you're about to crash.

Yeah. Well, I don't want to go
home until I'm absolutely certain

that Paula is quite safe.

She really means
that much to you?

She has no family.

Well, there's a police officer.

Should be here on guard
duty in a few minutes.

Why don't you take that time and
go in the waiting room and rest?

Thank you, Sergeant.

You're welcome.

Mrs. Fletcher?

Yeah?

Miss Raynor is awake
and asking for you.

Oh, thank you. Thank you.

Mrs. Fletcher. Doctor.

Paula.

Oh, Jessica.

When I woke up just
now I had a pang of guilt.

Why was that?

Because you got dragged from
your apartment on account of me.

Oh! That's all right, Paula.

I'm glad to help.

I think I remember something
that happened at the party.

About John's friends?

Well, that's just it.

They weren't his friends at all.

He didn't know any
of them except one.

He didn't come until later.

Around 6:30, John
seems to get real nervous

and he kept
looking at his watch.

And then this guy came in.

He was furious with John.

Rookie!

He was obviously drunk.

And John told him,
"Go home and sober up."

But the guy pushed
Mr. Haynes aside,

spilled ice cream
all over his pants.

And he grabs John and
slams him into a wall.

All hell broke loose.

Jill Maggio screamed
about her kitchen.

And her dad saying

he's gotta go home and change his
pants before he can show a property.

And then raised his fist like
he's gonna smash John's face in.

Alex tried to grab him,
and he almost got hit.

And Marv's yelling
something like,

"Come on, Sarge, relax
and have some coffee."

He called him Sarge?

That's him! That's the
man that tried to k*ll John!

It's okay, Paula.

There's nothing to be afraid of.

Would you get
the hell out of here?

Uh, look, Miss Raynor,
there's no reason to be afraid.

All I want to do is find
the guy who did this to you.

It's very important
you try and remember

exactly what happened
in the parking lot.

Get out. Get away
from me, please!

Come on. I just want to ask you
a few questions. Go away, please.

Just go away, please. But I...

Get out. Get out,
please! Leave me alone.

It's all right, Paula.

I'm sorry. I'm sorry.

It wasn't the way it looked.
She didn't know the facts.

Well, nothing would please me more
than to hear the facts from you, Sergeant.

Yeah, I know.

But I have to check
out something first.

Well, it seems to me that
the first thing to check out

is John Bondy's car.

If Paula's memory is accurate,

John Bondy didn't drive
himself into that abutment,

it had to have been rigged.

Yeah.

Uh...

John's car should be at the
police garage by tomorrow.

You still wanna
check out your theory?

Yes, I do.

Then I'll pick you up at
your place tomorrow at 9:30.

Good.

You could see it's a real mess.

Is the accelerator
linkage intact?

Oh, it's all there.

What exactly am I supposed
to be looking for, Sarge?

I don't know. You tell me.

The car crashed at a high rate
of speed with nobody driving it.

And since the person who
made it crash was not in the car,

there must've been
some sort of a device.

Possibly something quite simple.

Like a shim.

Something that would make the
accelerator stick at high speed.

What is that?

A paper clip.

Somebody jammed the
accelerator with a bent paper clip.

The perp didn't have
to be a rocket scientist.

Thanks, Al.

Well, now you know
as much as I know.

Well, not quite.

You still haven't explained your
behavior toward John at the party.

Yeah. I guess that would
be a little bit confusing for you.

You ever hear of a department
within a police department

that investigates the illegal
activities of other cops?

Well, of course. That's the Internal
Affairs Department. You mean you're...

Yes. I am.

We're looking for a rotten apple
with a special unit that I'm in charge of.

We're investigating a
hijacking operation. A big one.

I needed someone to go
undercover and get this guy.

Someone new to the department

that no one else
would recognize.

John.

We'd worked together
for a couple of days.

(SIGHS)

John said I was using
him as bait, and I was.

He trusted me.

(SIGHS)

It's my fault he's
dead, Mrs. Fletcher.

Whoever wasted John

is one cop k*ller nobody
will get their hands on but me.

This one is mine.

MEYERS: Thank you for
seeing me, Mrs. Fletcher.

I thought this might be
a little more convenient

than meeting down
at headquarters.

Well, I appreciate
that, Captain.

Can I offer you a
cup of coffee or tea?

Mmm. Thank you, no.

Uh, look, I'll be brief.

It's been brought
to my attention

you paid a visit to the
police vehicle impound

in connection
with a current case.

That's correct.

And based on your
reputation for, shall I say,

a certain inquisitiveness,

I don't suppose that
satisfied your curiosity.

No, it didn't.

Look, Mrs. Fletcher, I ask
that you permit the department

to handle this
matter in its own way.

In other words, I should
mind my own business.

I assure you, Miss Raynor's
security is in capable hands.

(PHONE RINGING)

Excuse me.

Hello.

Mrs. Fletcher, I've been
trying to reach Sergeant Lofton.

What is it, Doctor?

Somebody tried
to k*ll Miss Raynor.

Is she all right?

Yeah. Yeah, luckily.

A guy with a ski mask
came up the fire stairs,

knocked out the security guard.

I just happened to
walk in right in time.

(SIGHS)

Listen, I've been doing
my best with her, but it's...

She's pretty shaken up.

Thought she could
use a friend about now.

Well, I'll be over there
as quickly as I can.

Thank you.

Somebody tried
to k*ll Miss Raynor.

I'm going over to the hospital.

Okay. All the more reason for
the police to handle this matter

as soon as possible.

Look, Captain, the last thing in the
world I want to do is to get in your way.

On the other hand, are you
aware that one of your own men

has said that he intends
to find John Bondy's k*ller

and deal with it in his own way?

Sergeant Lofton
tends to overdramatize.

Is that what you call it?

I'd say that you have a very
loose cannon on your hands.

So, I hear you had a little talk with
my boss, some of which was about me?

Vigilantes frighten
me, Sergeant.

Vigilantes wearing badges
I find particularly scary.

Meyers recruited John for me.

I sent him to work undercover
as a warehouseman.

Eventually, John made a
contact. His name was Vinnie.

He was a dockworker
with an attitude.

John kept me up
on what happened.

(GRUNTS)

I'm tired of busting
my hump every day.

Too bad you weren't
born rich, Vinnie.

Those hijackers are
driving off every night

with thousands of bucks
worth of merchandise.

Yeah, some fools
got all the luck, huh?

You can't be that stupid.

You buy that luck
with hard cash.

They bought themselves a cop.

What? Only one?

This cop's special.
He's in the right place.

What? You know him, Vinnie?

Maybe.

Are you kidding me, fool?
Well, talk about lucking out, man!

What are you talking about?

You've heard of
insurance companies, right?

They pay large for this
kind of information, man.

Yeah, right. Big money.

Like they're gonna listen to me.

I got a connection, all right.

One of my boys from high school

works for a large
insurance company now.

So if I tell him to
listen, he's gonna listen.

I don't know. No, I don't know.

If you ain't interested...

I don't wanna go
to court or anything.

Look, Vinnie, this is
straight up confidential, man.

All you gotta do is tell my
man the name of the cop

and everything
you know about him.

In fact, you don't
even have to tell him.

Tell me and I'll tell him.

I have to think about it.

It was the only lead we had.

Vinnie called for a meeting in a
parking lot behind a pub, on Ocean View.

My God, the parking lot.

Then you arranged the
party at Alex Maggio's?

Sure. It was the only way to get the
entire task force in one place at one time.

I mean, I thought we had a lock.

I'd show up at the party
late, playing drunk and mean.

Pick a fight with John.
He would duck out,

and I'd follow the
next cop to leave.

What went wrong?

LOFTON: Anyway, I'm keeping
an eye out as John and Paula leave.

Did you know him?

LOFTON: And what do you know?

I mean, without missing a
beat, Sonny Greene leaves,

so I follow him in my car.

After a few minutes,
it became apparent

that he wasn't
headed for the pub.

So I took off like a bat out of
hell in the opposite direction.

It was too late. When
I got back to the pub,

John's car was gone.

And so were John and Paula.

You can't blame
yourself, Sergeant.

(SIGHS)

That's a nice try,
Mrs. Fletcher, but...

I should have
been there for him.

That's why I
gotta make it right.

I gotta get that SOB
who wasted John.

I gotta do that.

So. Let's see, what
were your words?

Uh, you were gonna take
care of him like a baby brother.

Okay. All right. I
know. I blew it. Next?

Next is I'm closing
you down, as of now.

Look, Captain, this was one
of my guys, and I'll find him.

We've been there before,
Lofton. We're cutting our losses.

What do you mean,
you're "cutting your losses"?

What the hell is that? You mean
you're covering up your butt, right?

You'll receive your reassignment
orders by tomorrow morning.

No way. No way!

You're going to the 19. Desk
Sergeant. On the graveyard shift.

Rather appropriate under the
circumstances, wouldn't you say?

You're investigating
me, is that it?

Bingo.

Don't worry, Sergeant.

You're gonna come
out smelling like a rose.

I promise.

Well, Paula, I'd better
get back to the hospital

or they're gonna have
to shut down the place.

You don't know how much better
it feels to be back in my apartment.

I think I do.

And I feel a whole lot better

knowing that there's a large policeman
parked downstairs in the lobby.

Thanks for letting me
come home, Doctor.

And thanks for
checking up on me.

Funny thing, I worked
very hard all my life

so that everyone
would call me doctor,

and now I'd just
rather be called Ramon.

Thank you, Ramon.

Anyway, bye.

Bye. Bye.

Jessica! It's a response
to my computer search!

A woman in St. Louis thinks
she might have known my father!

Paula, that's wonderful.

(KNOCK ON DOOR)

We just came from
John Bondy's funeral.

We're here to look
in on Miss Raynor.

Of course. Please come in.

Well, we're real glad to see
you're on the mend, Miss Raynor.

I guess you didn't know John
a whole lot better than we did.

PAULA: No, I didn't.

ALEX: Anyway, his folks flew in
from San Francisco for the service.

We're throwing him a little
wake tonight at my place.

Sort of potluck.

Well, that sounds nice.

Unfortunately, I'm in
no condition to attend.

Yeah. Well, listen, Paula,

you wouldn't happen to
have any idea, would you,

what this thing with
John was all about?

What do you mean?

SONNY: There's nothing in
the newspapers about him.

But we kind of been
hearing things about

maybe his death
not being an accident.

ALEX: Sergeant
Lofton isn't saying zip.

And as I'm sure
you can understand,

we tend to take kind of
a dim view of cop-k*lling.

No. I hadn't heard anything. No.

Well, if you do. Maybe you
could give one of us a jingle?

Yeah, I'm still at
the same number.

LEN: We'll be checking in.

Thank you, Miss Raynor.

Oh, God, Jessica.

You realize we may have just
been talking to John's k*ller?

The man that tried to k*ll me?

Yes. I know.

Paula, the powerful one, Sonny,

did you know him before?

Yeah. We used to go out.

I was only 17, and he
was a professional boxer.

I guess I was kind
of dazzled by him.

That is, until I found out that
the ring isn't the only place

he likes to use his fists.

Hmm.

Whose are those?

Well, they're Alex's, I think.

I also think it's time for
you to have a good rest.

Thank you, Jessica.

Mmm-hmm.

Bye, now.

This is awfully sweet
of you, Mrs. Fletcher,

but Alex could've picked these
up from you when he got off duty.

Well, I wanted to talk
to you, Mrs. Maggio.

To me?

Well, I was curious how
a young NYPD detective

could afford a $200
pair of sunglasses.

Wait a minute. What
the hell gives you the right

to come in here asking
questions like that?

Well, your husband is a
public servant, Mrs. Maggio.

And beyond that, I'm a
friend of Paula Raynor's.

I don't understand.

I'm not sure that I do,

except that Paula's
life may be in danger,

possibly from someone
on the police force.

Oh, my God!

Well, I can certainly put
your mind at rest about Alex,

and all of this.

(DOGS BARKING)

My dad, Jimmy Haynes,
he's a very successful man.

He's in commercial
real estate, and...

Well, he indulges us.

Also, Alex works for him part
time, learning the business.

BUDDY: Mom, we're home.

In the kitchen.

What do they say,
timing is everything?

(LAUGHS)

Hi, hon. Hi.

Whoa! Guy! Where
are your manners?

Buddy, this is Mrs. Fletcher.

Hi, Buddy. Hi.

We had art today.

Poster colors.

Are they neat or what?

JILL: Oh, beautiful.

JIMMY: Tell her what we call it.

Our mean machine.

This is my dad, Jimmy Haynes.

Oh, hello. How do you do?

Mrs. Fletcher is
a friend of Paula's.

The one who was in the accident.

Oh, right. She okay?

She's recovering
nicely, thank you.

Good. Good. Do you have
enough fixings for the wake?

Yeah, Alex is
bringing stuff home.

Good. Well, it was very nice
to have met you, Miss Fletcher.

I've gotta get back to
work. Oh, I nearly forgot.

They're taking class
pictures on Monday.

Be sure to dress
him up a little, hmm?

I already talked to two other
Vinnies, but they were the wrong guys.

The Vinnie I'm looking for is a
little guy with an attitude problem.

I know just who you're
talking about, Sergeant.

You sold the black
guy out to a cop.

I wanna know what cop.

I can't talk.

(COCKS g*n)

You will talk to me, Vinnie.

Well, Dr. Ramon said it was very
important that you should take nourishment.

Mmm. Well, I'm not sure
how chocolate-nut-fudge

ice cream fits
into that category,

but, um, who's asking?

Thank you, Jessica. And
I have something for you.

I've been trying to jog my
memory about the night it happened,

so I've been writing down
everything I can recall.

Good. And did much
of it come back?

Well, more than I really
bargained for. But, um...

I don't know how
much of it makes sense.

It's like some of it's kind
of, you know, surreal.

May I?

Of course. I'm not sure
how much it's gonna help.

PAULA: The nightmare
began in an ordinary parking lot.

I was looking for John. I
saw him sitting in his car.

His blood appeared to be spreading
beyond him, a horrible pool of crimson,

extending beyond
the open window.

As if, as if the whole world was
suddenly awash in John's blood.

And then I felt
this terrible pain.

John's blood.

What is it, Jessica?

May I use your phone?

Of course.

Yes, Captain Meyers, please.

Oh, no, please put
me through to his car.

This is an emergency.

Yes. Beautiful. She is,
is she? Okay, put her on.

There. Hello, Mrs. Fletcher.

Yes, I'm afraid you've
caught me at a bad time.

Oh relax, Captain. I'm not
gonna compromise your security.

I need a favor.

Oh. Now, what kind of favor?

I need quick access to some
information from the Hall of Records

and the Motor Vehicle Bureau.

Well, it could very well be
a matter of life and death.

There's the car!
The one over there.

Are you sure
that's the cop's car?

Brand new. Don't that
tell you something?

Yeah. And this is the exact spot the
cop made the payoff the other night?

I told you, I don't know. All
these warehouses look alike.

Aw, come on! You're not
gonna make me face the cop.

Yeah. Come on. Come on.

I swear on my mother's head, I didn't
know he was gonna k*ll your friend.

Yeah, right. I understand.
Get over there.

(MEN CHATTERING)

MAN: See you tomorrow, fellas.

Like I was gonna yell to them.

(PHONE RINGING)

Hello. Hi, honey.
How's it going?

About the same as usual.
Buddy's got some friends over,

and they're driving
me crazy, as usual.

Alex, I gotta talk to you.

I didn't mention it last night,
but it's been worrying me.

A Mrs. Fletcher was
here yesterday, and...

Sarge, what are you doing here?

Vinnie! Is this the
cop that pays you?

What is this?

This is your trial, old buddy.

Alex?

Uh, Jill, listen. I'll
call you back, okay?

I ain't even sure it's him!

What are you talking about,
"You're not sure it's him"?

It was dark.

Come on! He's the guy you
told about talking to John.

About his insurance
company's reward.

I... I don't know.

You described John.

You knew exactly who was
gonna show up in that parking lot.

You went there to k*ll him!

I swear to God I didn't.

And then you cold-cocked Paula
Raynor and you put her in that car.

And rigged it to
crash. You, a cop!

No! No!

No! No, no! Don't do it, Lofton.

It's my decision, Captain!

Sergeant, you'll be
k*lling an innocent man.

But if he didn't
k*ll John, who did?

There was somebody else.

Someone who knew about the
undercover Internal Affairs investigation.

Someone who pretended
that he was a police officer

in order to frighten Vinnie into
telling him about John Bondy.

Isn't that right, Mr. Haynes?

That's the guy!

Jimmy?

Captain, Mrs. Fletcher.
How can I help you?

By confessing to the
m*rder of John Bondy

and the attempted
m*rder of Paula Raynor.

Mrs. Fletcher, that is
really quite preposterous.

I don't believe it is.

You left the party at your
son-in-law's before John and Paula did,

complaining about the ice cream
that had soiled your trousers.

You drove into the pub's parking lot
and parked right next to John's car.

You waited. And when John
came out to meet the person

he thought would be Vinnie's
contact, it was an ambush.

And you k*lled him. When
Paula came out to look for John,

she found him in his car
with blood on his face. Dead.

You knocked her unconscious,
planning to k*ll her, too.

But despite all, the single
compelling image stuck in her memory.

Something she called,
"A pool of crimson."

Oh, you've got the first part
right. I did leave the party early,

but that was because I had to
show a property up in the Bronx.

Oh, I'm quite sure
your appointment book

will indicate that
that's true, Mr. Haynes.

But I expect you'll tell us that
the party failed to show up.

That you waited for a long
time and that nobody saw you.

I also expect that the
police will be unable to trace

the party with whom you
supposedly had an appointment.

You might as well save
us all some time, Haynes.

How?

Paula remembered, but she
didn't realize what she remembered.

She confused the pool of
crimson with John's blood.

When, in reality, it was
something quite different.

I recalled where I had
seen the same thing,

your grandson's drawing
of the "mean machine."

The pool of crimson was in
fact the side of your red truck.

Sergeant.

Mr. Haynes, you have
the right to remain silent.

You have the
right to an attorney.

PAULA: How did you
know about the warehouse?

Well, when I found out that Jill's
father was in commercial real estate,

I asked Captain Meyers to find out if
he owned some property near the area

where the hijacking
had taken place.

And also, I had him find out whether
Mr. Haynes owned a red vehicle.

You know, that warehouse was
packed with h*jacked merchandise.

Right under Alex's nose, too.

But he had no idea it
was all stolen goods.

Who would've thought
that about Mr. Haynes?

He seemed like such a nice man.

Paula, is there something
you're not telling us?

It's my father. I
finally located him.

I'm leaving for Denver
tomorrow to meet him.

Oh! He sounds as
excited as you are!

And I don't suppose that wild
horses could stop you from going?

Not even loose cannons.

Me? No!